"Say, 'Mushroom,' just lend me those skees, will you?" asked Hackett, eagerly.
"What?"—Billy Musgrove's pudgy face began to expand into a broader smile—"what?" he repeated. Then he drew back his head, and laughed heartily in his own peculiar fashion.
"Well," snapped the thin boy, "what is there so funny about it?"
"Why—say—if you lose your balance, Sackett, you'll find out—eh, Tim?"
"It's kinder risky fer a feller what ain't never tried it," admitted Sladder.
"It's easy enough," insisted Hackett, half angrily, the opposition having aroused all his combative spirit. "Anybody can do it. Slip off those boards, 'Mushroom,' and hand 'em over."
"Huh!" exclaimed Musgrove. "If you take a header, don't blame me. 'Tain't nothing, eh?" and with a much injured expression, he passed over the skees.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Hackett. "After I start the ball rolling, the rest of you fellows will want to take a crack at it, too. Just watch me slide. Your turn next, Tommy Clifton."
And with these words, the tall youth started confidently up the hill.
"He's a sassy feller, but he's game, all right," grunted Musgrove, admiringly.